November 20, 2019

At the Mendota Fog Café...

35804879-3189-4F0A-8775-882BC31A639B_1_201_a

... you can talk about anything you want.

Feel free to talk about the debate. As my sunrise photos attest, I am a morning person. The debate is too late for me! I may watch, but I won't blog. Not until tomorrow morning.

129 comments:

h said...

Ok, I'm aware this over-the-top-tin-foil-hat stuff. But we now have "Burisma got Ukraine gov't money" link. The rest of the chain is: Ukraine govt got US aid dollars; Burisma got Ukraine govt money; Biden family got money from Burisma. It is a (not very good) money laundering operation to cover up Biden family getting millions in US gov't funds.

Mark said...

As I said, I've had Chick-fil-A a couple of times, but always at some function. And always in a biscuit. Not a fan of biscuits. Too doughy. Chicken was fairly good though. But never actually bought anything at their restaurants.

So again, no big loss.

I'm just reminded of the scene in Indiana Jones and the Holy Grail, where the old guy (there are some who call him . . . Tim) says, "He chose poorly."

Chick-fil-A chose poorly.

Two-eyed Jack said...

You can talk about anything you want?

I want nothing.

narciso said...

ford vs Ferrari was very good, usually I can't stand matt damon, Christian bale almost makes up for his cheney film, as ken miles, almost as wiry as he was in the fighter, but not the excess in the machinist, its about southern California in the early to mid 60s, and Detroit, henry ford doesn't come off too well, but not as badly as josh lucas leo beebe, he's the real villain, who stands in the way of miles succeeding,

narciso said...

compare that with the latest wokefest, charlies angels, which seems to be chasing the event horizon, that's the outer layer of a black hole

David Begley said...

I’m glad people are seeing the movie, “Ford v. Ferrari.”

stevew said...

Love the photo. As for the debate, I've got nothing to say.

Daughter came home from the west coast tonight, she's been away three days, and came by to pick up her children. Seeing them reunited, and the joy they shared, has left me a little verklempt. I'm going to need a moment to collect myself.

J. Farmer said...

‘Britain’s first gay dads’ are Tampa’s UK tabloid sensation

This was not the story I needed to read today. Basically, two old queens and their five test tube children moved from England to Tampa a few years ago supposedly to escape tabloid coverage and prevent their children from being recognized in public. They are apparently back in the British tabloids due to one half of the couple, a 50-year-old, ending the marriage in order to be with his daughter's 25-year-old ex-boyfriend. And they're all living together. And the family is in the process of shopping a reality show. The article includes two photos. One is of the 50-year-old doing a ridiculous duck lip pose next to his 25-year-old boytoy, and the other is a family photo that looks like something that would accompany a ransom note.

Mark said...
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Mark said...

Tonight, it's the episode with the chick from Ironside.

The guy who plays Kodos the Executioner has an awesome voice though. And the scene where a hand reaches out with a plastic spray bottle to poison Riley is a hoot.

J. Farmer said...

I’m glad people are seeing the movie, “Ford v. Ferrari.”

You know who isn't glad? Hannah Elliott of Bloomberg. Ford v Ferrari Depicts a Generation of Car Guys That’s Best Left Behind

Shorter version: when will all these awful old white men die already?!

Mark said...

Interesting episodal connection here. The two-parter with the beeping Captain Pike is immediately followed by one with a star from the show with Perry Mason in a wheelchair.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

a) very nice series of mellow, meditative pics, Professor A !

b)Ukrainian Intelligence Sources Report Ambassador Yovanovitch Lied To Congress, Protected Russian Oligarch On Sanctions List

https://creativedestructionmedia.com/investigations/2019/11/20/ukrainian-intelligence-sources-report-ambassador-yovanovitch-lied-to-congress-protected-russian-oligarch-on-sanctions-list/

c)met the Right's (arguably)favorite homosexual Milo today

d)Epstein as of yet has still not killed himself

mockturtle said...

JFarmer: It seems that social media have created a world where people compete for crazy. What with gender-reveal parties, mothers tinkering with their children's identities and 'test-tube' babies, we never know what's coming next. In my life I've had a large number of gay friends and several Lesbian friends. There was only one, a male, whom anyone would call flamboyant. I don't know how you feel about the Gay Pride parades but what I've seen of them makes me sick to my stomach. Straight people don't usually make public display of their sexual eccentricities, why should gays?

David Begley said...

New poll out of Wisconsin. Trump wins Wisconsin.

narciso said...

I thought of seeing midway but like agent j i decided for the pie, something to do with nothing.

FullMoon said...

It seems that social media have created a world where people compete for crazy.

The crazies have always been here but now they have a wider audience.

tim in vermont said...

Biden can Tweet through time!

FullMoon said...

I don't know how you feel about the Gay Pride parades but what I've seen of them makes me sick to my stomach.

Well, dykes on bikes a major disappointment. 'specially after having to park a mile away
and wait an hour for them to show up. Couple of the motorcycles were not too bad, though.

Never again.

J. Farmer said...

@mockturtle:

I don't know how you feel about the Gay Pride parades but what I've seen of them makes me sick to my stomach. Straight people don't usually make public display of their sexual eccentricities, why should gays?

I have never attended one and have no plans to ever attend one. I find the concept of gay pride rather baffling actually. I don't think you should be proud about being gay, and I don't think you should be ashamed of it. It should simply be a component of a much bigger and more layered life. I have known many gay people who have made being gay the core center of their identity. I suppose it works for them. I am simply not constituted that way.

tim in vermont said...

Forbidden Planet is on Netflix. It’s the source material for Star Trek. I had never seen it, it’s pretty good, if you adjust your expectations to 1956. I liked that they said they were going to arrive at the planet at 1701.... There’s a four digit number that showed up later! I think that was Rodenberry alluding to his source.

narciso said...

And in turn its sources from shakespeares the tenpest, i caught parts of it on svengoie

J. Farmer said...

@FullMoon:

Well, dykes on bikes a major disappointment. 'specially after having to park a mile away
and wait an hour for them to show up. Couple of the motorcycles were not too bad, though.


The closest I ever got was Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and what a hellish experience that was. Great time if you love drinking shitty watered down drinks while packed shoulder to shoulder with drunk sweaty slobs amid the combined stench of puke and urine. And I hardly got to see any nubile coeds flashing their breasts. I had yet to discover my general rule of nudity: the people most likely to expose themselves are the ones you are least likely to want to see exposed.

David Begley said...

DDB,

Reflecting on the script, I think what made it so great was the conflict. The obvious conflict was between the two car companies, but there was way more. There was the conflict between Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles. Conflict between Carroll Shelby and the Ford Executive VP. Conflict between Lee Iacocca and Henry Ford, II. (I hope Iacocca saw the movie before he passed.) Conflict between Ken Miles and his wife Mollie. Conflict between man and machine.

The movie wasn't all about conflict as there was teamwork with the Shelby team to beat the Italians. The relationship between Ken and his son Peter was very, very moving.

I can't praise this movie enough. That was cinema. That was no comic book movie. That was what Scorsese wrote about in the NYT. That script is what we should all aspire to write and I think my "Frankenstein, Part II" is in the same ballpark.

narciso said...

How about the scene where miles and shelby get into a scuffle and mollie has an unexpected reaction.

Michael McNeil said...

It's often claimed that Forbidden Planet (the best science fiction film of the 50's, in my opinion) is simply an SF retelling of Shakepeare's The Tempest, but the former's critical plot element of “monsters from the Id” is not Tempestian.

narciso said...

There are little touches like that, i dont know who was more annoying the seca of the lemans rule keepers.

Big Mike said...

@Farmer, thank you for the link to Bloomberg’s review of “Ford V Ferrari.” Yet another woman who doesn’t accept that the culture of fifty years ago was not as woke as the culture of today. She and the rest of her cohort can’t die off soon enough.

narciso said...

Scca, it seems they were concerned with aesthetics than functional requirement, you need a light frame that can sustain high rpms for prolongued periods of time.

FullMoon said...


The closest I ever got was Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and what a hellish experience that was.


Thanks for the info. Gonna crosss it off my bucket list. Was already getting kinda iffy after watching a few "First 48, New Orleans".

narciso said...

My god what a whiny (redacted) if she were any more woke shed be a zombie.

J. Farmer said...
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J. Farmer said...

Thanks for the info. Gonna crosss it off my bucket list. Was already getting kinda iffy after watching a few "First 48, New Orleans".

Only keep it if Midtown Manhattan on New Year's Eve is your idea of fun.

p.s. While the subject matter isn't as sexy as Ford V. Ferrari, Mary Walton's book Car: A Drama of the American Workplace is a pretty compelling read about Ford's redesign of the Taurus in the mid-1990s.

stephen cooper said...
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tim in vermont said...

"Well, dykes on bikes a major disappointment. “

I think the real purpose of that display is to turn men gay.

FullMoon said...

Only keep it if Midtown Manhattan on New Year's Eve is your idea of fun.

Good venue for street vendor selling adult diapers singles..

FullMoon said...

Dem debate live blogging:

https://jaltcoh.blogspot.com/

LA_Bob said...

Regarding the debate: As of 9:21 Eastern Time, it appears the women moderators are completely boycotting Tulsi Gabbard. Everyone has spoken, some more than once, except Gabbard. Seems kind of cruddy to me.

But, what do you expect?

Marcus Bressler said...

Spent the late afternoon with the FWB then off to see Motherless Brooklyn. It was as good as I expected. Well worth it.


THEOLDMAN

The movie was fantastic also.

tim in vermont said...

I don’t get the love for Gabbard among conservatives. Other than hating Hillary, which just proves she is human and honest on the one issue, she’s a lefty who wants to take control of the economy, just like the rest of them.

stephen cooper said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Limited blogger said...

Andrew Yang is too smart to be president

stephen cooper said...

Andrew Yang is a loser.

Achieve, achieve, achieve, work, work, work, compete, compete, compete.

If he were on my football team he would be the kicker nobody wants to hang around with.

Limited blogger said...

I like Tulsi because she is not insane. Nor is Yang. The rest of them are total loons.

Doesn't mean I want her as president.

She can be in Trump's cabinet.

J. Farmer said...

@Skylark:

I don’t get the love for Gabbard among conservatives. Other than hating Hillary, which just proves she is human and honest on the one issue, she’s a lefty who wants to take control of the economy, just like the rest of them.

Think of it this way. If you were given the power to choose the next president but were limited only to the current Democratic candidates, where would you rank Gabbard in terms of preference? Also, like Trump, people find her critique of "endless war" compelling. I think the old left/right dichotomy on economics has been fading for years. Trump's positions on immigration and "free" trade are loathed by the business wing of the Republican Party.

Limited blogger said...

No one likes the kicker.

'cept when he kicks the 50 yarder to win the game with no time left.

J. Farmer said...

When I was growing up, it was very common for Republicans to describe themselves as "fiscally conservative and socially liberal." They basically wanted to push the Big Business agenda and distance themselves from the Christian Right. And apparently people thought that "fiscally conservative/socially liberal" was the winning formula in American politics. Turns out they were 180 degrees wrong. It seems to me that what most Americans want is someone who is socially conservative and fiscally liberal.

chuck said...

>> Forbidden Planet<<

My uncle took me to see it when I was ten. Loved it, but the monster scared the sh*t out of me.

tim in vermont said...

Think of it this way. If you were given the power to choose the next president but were limited only to the current Democratic candidates, where would you rank Gabbard in terms of preference?

The fact that she hates Clinton does make me want to register as a Democrat for the primary.

hawkeyedjb said...

"I find the concept of gay pride rather baffling actually"

Yes, exactly. If I were ever asked about my identity, I would have to respond: American. Midwesterner. Hawkeye. I can't even imagine discussing anything having to do with my private activities or attractions. Who would be interested? Why?

mockturtle said...

Regarding the debate: As of 9:21 Eastern Time, it appears the women moderators are completely boycotting Tulsi Gabbard. Everyone has spoken, some more than once, except Gabbard. Seems kind of cruddy to me.

But, what do you expect?


My daughter is watching the debate and said that there was 'back and forth' between Gabbard and Harris.

tim in vermont said...

The movie that scared the shit out of me from that era was, I think it was called “Them” and it was maybe about giant ants and they got caught up in some wires, but being a small child, I was thinking it was clothes lines, like in the back yard. I was picturing giant ant heads caught in the clothes line mom used in the back yard.

stephen cooper said...

limited blogger - can't argue with what you said there.

tim in vermont said...

OK, Gabbard has a point here.

https://twitter.com/kimguilfoyle/status/1197345578130329600

LA_Bob said...

"My daughter is watching the debate and said that there was 'back and forth' between Gabbard and Harris."

There was. But it was several minutes after my comment.

Bilwick said...

Anyone notice a trend in loud cars? Cars that sound like they're running the Indy 500? Like mufflers were never invented? I noticed it a couple of times months ago, but now it's several times a day. I'm guessing this is a Frat Boy/Cool Guy thing.

chuck said...

My OK Boomer moment: Buttigieg reminds me of Howdy Doody.

mockturtle said...

Around here I hear mostly loud diesel trucks. And ATVs [really annoying].

Drago said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Drago said...

Hey, what's the latest over/under on the following?:

- Number of "surprise" grandchildren that will pop up over the next several years for Slow Joe

- Lines of coke Hunter Biden will be doing over the next several months

- Additional people Hillary will blame for her loss

chuck said...

>> loud diesel trucks <<

Got a truck ride while hitching through Western Pennsylvania, the driver had phony mufflers installed to save on gas.

Speaking of hitchhiking, another time got a ride with a salesman who had a box of slugs for the toll machines that he got from a machinist friend. And then there was the cigar smoking redneck in a hat who picked me up, and when I got in I could see that he was wearing a short skirt and red high heels. Hitchhiking was an education.

narciso said...

They dont like attractive women, i mean gabbard is down the line left on most issues shes not fully moloch or for gun confiscation.

Michael K said...

I agree with Dave Begley on Ford vs.

We saw it tonight and the theater was packed on a Wednesday night. Of course they were our age but we saw Midway last week and there were 30 people max.

I used to go to the Palm Springs car races when I was in college. One time we were pulling up to the PS airport, where they were held, and Shelby pulled out in, I think, a Maserati. He proceeded to get it to about 170 on the side streets of PS. The races were held on the runways and, of course , we were white males plus girl friends. They were also held in Santa Barbara. They were a popular thing in the 50s. Got big crowds.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

if "Pay-to-Play' is 'quid pro quo'

...and Ukraine was Clinton Foundation's biggest donor...

Ken B said...

I would never want Tulsi in the White House. But is it really that odd to be able to respect someone you disagree with?

stephen cooper said...

Michael K ---- here in Northern Virginia, the audience for Midway was 80 percent full.

I think that both Midway and Ford v Ferrari are gonna be classics -

last time two great movies like that came out at the same time was when I was just a little less old than I am now and Tora Tora Tora and True Grit came out the same month

Big Mike said...
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Big Mike said...

Anyone notice a trend in loud cars?

My son says that there are racers and there are “ricers.” The former may race their cars at autocross meets and SCCA events, but their exhaust systems are legal for the street. The latter dress up their cars to look impressive with wings and things, and mount loud exhaust systems, but their cars would not pass a pre-race safety inspection and they have no idea when your line through a corner should take an early apex and when you want a late apex. Or what an apex is. Or what a line is.

tim in vermont said...

So Tulsi says Trump is sending American boys overseas in regime change wars. She is only throwing in Trump because she knows that Democrats will believe her, and if she doesn’t, well, if you want an end to regime change wars.... stick with Trump.

wildswan said...

Like her fellow Hawaiian, Obama, Tulsi is a thorough leftist who does not sound like one and she is even more appealing since she does not hate America and has served as a soldier, and she does hate the Democratic party. She's only in with the Dems because her radical left beliefs (similar to those of Bernie Sanders who hates the Democratic party also) align better with the Democratic party. She disagrees with all Republican social and fiscal policies but she doesn't hate us as people.

Ken B said...

That ridiculous review wanders off into a paean to the current GM management! It’s a movie about cars 55 years ago ... A review that isn’t about the thing being reviewed. Inherently dishonest.

wildswan said...

Nobody I respect has an opinion about the debate. That is information in itself. Probably Althouse was right when she pointed out what a long day was being expected of the politically interested. School with detention followed by the science fair.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

compliments of WikiLeaks

To: gruncom@aol.com
CC: re47@hillaryclinton.com, john.podesta@gmail.com, jpalmieri@hillaryclinton.com, Jim.Margolis@gmmb.com, bfallon@hillaryclinton.com, kschake@hillaryclinton.com
Date: 2015-04-30 01:37
Subject: Re: Follow up the HRC idea re; foundation

Agree with Jen.
Also tend to agree with her going before him. Anything other than her taking quid pro quo of the table, included what would say first, won't take questions about her actions off the table.

J. Farmer said...

@Ken B:

I would never want Tulsi in the White House. But is it really that odd to be able to respect someone you disagree with?

Agree. You can admire somebody for having principles even if they are principles you do not happen to share. And though the realities of primary campaign have forced some degree of walk back, her views on homosexuality and abortion at least demonstrated a willingness to think independently about these issues outside of the party line. Alternately, the Clintons are the embodiment of amoral sleazebags who would say or do just about anything to obtain and hold on to power. Norm Macdonald had a funny joke: "People hated Hillary Clinton so much that they voted for someone they hated even more just to rub it in." Oh how it must've been to be in the room that night she was told she had lost the election to Donald Trump. And in true Clinton fashion, she has spent every day since pointing the finger at everyone but herself.

Limited blogger said...

The debate was miserable.

Nothing happened.

But we will be bombarded by sound bites and spin about how great it was.

J. Farmer said...

Hey, what's the latest over/under on the following?:

Out of sheer curiosity, I once asked a bookmaker to explain his job to me. Within 30 seconds I was completely lost but too proud to admit it, so I just kept nodding along. I eventually answered a fake phone call and walked away.

Limited blogger said...

Whoops, spoke too soon.

Tulsi just fired a missile at mayor Pete! He would send troops to Mexico!

So the russian agent's task tonight was to hit Pete??

Pete fires back with Assad attack on Tulsi.

Too bad time is running out

narciso said...

Did the mormon massacre register on any one elses radar?

mockturtle said...

I actually thought the old Midway was pretty good. Not as good as Tora! Tora! Tora!, which I watch faithfully every December 7 [and it's coming up soon! :-)]. Would like to see the new version [and Ford v. Ferrari] but don't go to movies and don't stream them so I'm probably SOL until they show up some day on TV.

Matt Sablan said...

"Everyone has spoken, some more than once, except Gabbard. Seems kind of cruddy to me.

But, what do you expect?"

-- Well, I sort of expect her to be minimized since she's been Othered by the Democrat party. Do you expect her to be given a fair shake?

mockturtle said...

So Rachel Madcow was one of the interrogators?

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

FISA report Dec.9 per L. Graham fwiw

stephen cooper said...

narciso sadly I have studied all my life the Old Testament level sins of all the great religions, because I like to pray for evildoers ....

someone has to, after all ,,,,,

yes I know the bad things a few Mormons did to a few thousand victims .....

and I can tell you about the millions killed by the Aztecs and the Maya (their helots were relatively innocent), I can tell you how many millions of crimes the Indians of North America engaged in in the generations where they were God's luckiest people in the most beautiful continent on the world, and I can refer you to the history books that describe what the Africans and Europeans and Asians did to each other, a million-fold times

Proverbs 8 teaches us that goodness is uncommon, but is precious


Pray for justice, God teaches us that those who hunger and thirst for justice will be, after all, not disappointed.


Guildofcannonballs said...

Loud cars driven like jerks are driving them make me remember what and how I used to drive.

My aching brakes.

LA_Bob said...

To Matt Sablan,

Oh, I agree. I thought it interesting all the senators on stage got asked about the impeachment show, but Gabbard, the one House member who has expressed skepticism about impeachment and may have to vote on it, was not asked.

Seems like if you intend to "other" someone before a national audience, you might consider being less blatant about it. But I suppose the real audience is the Democratic base.

stephen cooper said...

narciso I am not saying I am one of the people who hunger and thirst after justice (I am more like one of those people who get aggravated when the line at Popeye's for the new chicken sandwich is too long) - just to be clear --- I am just saying that it is a good thing to pray for evildoers.

Also it is a good thing to make this world an inhospitable place for them, but that is another subject.

narciso said...

The recent one in sonora, it dodnt seem menorable in fact all of the paperz as much as excused it, yes we can argue over mormon theologys category error for another day

FullMoon said...

Loud cars driven like jerks are driving them make me remember what and how I used to drive.

That is what makes you a good driver today.
I can spot the bad drivers a mile away, I used to be a teen aged boy.

narciso said...

When do we get the semblance if justice in this world?

FullMoon said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
stephen cooper said...

narciso, in 1974 I was overwhelmed with happiness when my little dog, who had been lost, was found by a junior member of the Pleasanton police department, who had a HUGE SMILE on his face when he returned the dog, wagging its tail, with happiness, to ITS BELOVED UGLY UNLOVED EXCEPT BY MY LITTLE DOG, me.

In 1991 I witnessed, first hand, what it looks like when a woman who thought she never had a friend in this world looks like when her husband, whom she was sure would be killed, returned from a war zone where, in fact, he would have been killed if not for the heroics of people who, to tell the truth, although they were my fellow soldiers, were not all that respectful to me (it now makes me laugh)

In 1996 the cause of Solanus Casey advanced in a significant way

In 2007, believe it or not, someone I care very much about had a wonderful year: I saw the happiness of someone who knows that God loves her.

God loves us all, and while you and me are reasonable people and we both KNOW THIS IS 2019

God is in charge, and this is not really 2019, and all these characters and comedians who we are all talking about so often - the political candidates, the billionaires, the "soccer moms" that elected sad Bill Clinton twice and almost elected his sad wife once, the "average voter", and so on -----

all of us know this is not really 2019, because God loves us too much to let us live in a year like 2019

"God loves us all the way we are but loves us too much to let us stay that way"

(for some reason I do not understand, the most theologically insightful quotation of the last 20 years was from one of those "quirky" independent films - in this case. June bug - one of those "indie" films that are only of interest, generally speaking, to the losers in life who are interested in independent films ....."

or maybe little Dawkins is right and EVOLUTION AND SCIENCE are all that matter (seriously, poor Dawkins - what is up with that?)

stephen cooper said...

sorry narciso that it took me 18 minutes to reply

a better man would have replied in a minute or two

narciso said...

Well we are travellers in this world, i askes for a semblance of justice

stephen cooper said...

"Blessed are those who thirst and hunger for justice, for theirs is , if nothing else, at least the memory that they once hungered and thirsted for justice: - is how I , a poor sinner, would have written it

Blessed are those who thirst and hunger for justice for theirs is the Kingdom of God

that is how, unless I remember wrong, the Holy Spirit said it, infinitely better than I could have said it

Infinitely

what a beautiful word, in this context

Achilles said...

stephen cooper said...
narciso sadly I have studied all my life the Old Testament level sins of all the great religions, because I like to pray for evildoers ....

It is cool to pray for them.

As long as you realize what would happen if they took power.

And as long as you respect the people who keep you safe from them.

Achilles said...

They will never nominate Buttigieg. He will be VP.

But please god please let the democrats nominate Buttigieg.

Please.

Black and Hispanic voters will leave the democrat party in mass if they do.

stephen cooper said...

Achilles ---

rem acu tetigisti.

for the record ---- I am one of the people who keep other people safe from evildoers

VFW in the sphere of military action,
and a good citizen in the secular world ....



and trust me I pray for the downfall of evildoers many times a day

"Saint Michael the Archangel defend us in battle" (I pray this thousands of times a year) ...

"protect us from the wickedness and snares of the devil ....
May God rebuke him, we humble pray,
and do though, O Prince of the Heavenly Hosts,
cast down to Hell Satan and all the evil spirits

who prowl through the world, seeking the ruin of souls.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, hear our prayer."


Like I said, I pray this prayer a thousand times every year, and have done so since the year most of the people who read this website were very very young.

Saint Michael the Archangel is my patron saint, and believe me, it is good to have a patron saint like that when you pray, every day of your life, for the repentance of the worst of evildoers .....

Thanks for noticing.

stephen cooper said...

Though we are humble, Saint Michael, you are close to God, and hear our humble prayers

Sprezzatura said...

“because I like to pray for evildoers”

As well as praying for the liberal side, don’t neglect prayer re Christian soldiers, like David Gibson. And, now especially, his family re loss that can’t be filled with dough.

J. Farmer said...

Well we are travellers in this world, i askes for a semblance of justice

It seems to me that that is what we do have. "A semblance of justice." It's the reality of justice that eludes. And I think that's one of the major reasons people find religion appealing. It seems obvious to anyone with a pair of eyes that in the world good people suffer and the wicked are rewarded. It is kind of comforting and reassuring to imagine that there is some ultimate justice awaiting everyone eventually.

While I'm aware that there are theological answers to it, I myself have never been able to overcome the problem of evil. I've seen photos of infants and toddlers whose mothers' boyfriends would come home loaded and use them as punching bags. I once had a sex assault case where the victim was under 12 months, and the mother's boyfriend would take photos of himself digitally penetrating the baby. To this day, I can be doing the most mundane of tasks, and out of nowhere these images that I've seen 10+ years ago will intrude into my mind. Sometimes I can easily shut them away, other times not so easily. But when those images are present, never do I feel more confident that when people cry out to the universe for help, nobody is listening.

stephen cooper said...

anti-de Sitter space, if you mean David Gibson, 1948-1968, from South Carolina, who died in Vietnam, well of course I will pray for him, and I will also praise God that brave men like him were born in the country I was born in.

If there is a different David Gibson who I do not know about, please let me know.

Bay Area Guy said...

Ford v Ferrari - big thumbs up. Wifey liked it too.

Back in the Paleozoic age (70s & 80s), we were expected, at a minimum, to change our tires, change the oil, open the hood, and do minor repairs on our cars. Some got into major repairs and racing (I didn't). The car gave you freedom and status. Chicks were not impressed with guys who didn't have cars. My first car, 73' Chevy Nova, bought used for $850. I was glad to have it, but it gave me no status. My second car, '71 Dodge Charger, was a beast. Lotta status. Many road trips. Many drive ins. Good times.

The movie embodies that culture, at the highest levels.

Bruce Hayden said...

I agree that Mayor Buttplug would be a better VP than Presidential candidate. I don’t think that we are ready yet for a married gay couple in the WH, plus, in the end, he is still the mayor of a mid sized town that he isn’t doing that well running. Who would he fit best with on a ticket? Probably not a straight guy. Esp an old one. Which probably leaves women, and that probably means Fauxhauntis Warren. The rest of the female Senators are going nowhere.

stephen cooper said...

Though we are humble, Saint Michael, you are close to God, and hear our humble prayers ...

"Saint Michael the Archangel defend us in battle

Be our protection from the wickedness and snares of the devil

May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,


and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Hosts,
Cast down to hell Satan and all the evil spirits
who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls.

Sacred Heart of Jesus , pray for us.."


I pray that prayer thousands of times a year, and I fearlessly pray for the repentance of evildoers.

stephen cooper said...
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narciso said...

Of gibsons cafe in oberlin

stephen cooper said...

Narciso - thanks for the explanation, I know a lot about Oberlin, and Oberlin is not a good place, right now ---- but I also think Lincoln had hatred in his heart, too, no matter what anyone says, and I am sure the Oberlinists do not care what I think about them. Life is complicated, but the truth is clear.

You can hardly imagine, Narciso, because you are a good person, to what degree people defend Lincoln, although he wanted all the African-American people of his day -American people - the grandparents and great-grandparents of so many of our fellow Americans! - to go back to Africa, and even though he was not overly concerned with the hundreds of thousands of dead young men who would not have died if he had remained the "humble country lawyer" he claimed, in the pride of his heart, to be, rather than the warmonger he turned out to be.

Just saying.

Good people pray for every single person who has suffered.

Proverbs 8 does not describe me - I am a humble sinner - but Proverbs 8 describes the world as we ought to see it.

I pray for poor Lincoln too I am not convinced he was not a great evildoer.

I would not be welcomed in the more refined circles at Oberlin, would I?

stephen cooper said...

On December 6, it might be good to

pray the Rosary
pray to the Sacred Heart

and to try to understand what it means to pray for those who need our prayers.


God loves you whether you pray or not, but God is your friend, and seriously, anyone alive in 2019 with an internet connection and reading this has been blessed enough in life to be able to pray for the good intentions that

all of us ought to be praying for, on December 6 or any other day.

Thanks for reading, God loves you.

narciso said...

Lincoln had to challenge the slave oower, it wasnt enough to to Free the slaves





stephen cooper said...

narciso that was a long time ago

stephen cooper said...

"Lat year's words belong to last year's language": - T.S. Eliot.

Thanks for reading, God loves you.

J. Farmer said...

Hey Stephen, after praying for the evildoers, can you thrown in a quick one for posting comments without bizarre spacing? ;)

stephen cooper said...
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stephen cooper said...
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J. Farmer said...

May God be kind enough to you that one day you may know that it is a good thing to not mock those who pray for evildoers!

Lighten up, Francis.

stephen cooper said...
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BUMBLE BEE said...

I thought it was weird that America would embrace Obama. Being Hawaiian, he wasn't of the culture of the mainstream i.e. Cars and Girls, (yes, Handsome Dick Manitoba sang it). Those of the automotive bent should see https://www.wxyz.com/money/auto-news/dream-cruise. A world famous one day long orgy of V8 brute force. Actually the preceding week is as good as every classic machine owner around is showin their stuff.

stephen cooper said...

J. Farmer, whatever you want.

A friend of mine was murdered, not that many years ago. It was on a different continent than the continent I lived on, and I would give anything to have been there and to have prevented that murderer from doing the evil thing he did, I would have been happy to kill that evil creature any way I could, before that vile creature murdered my friend.

God is going to punish that murderer, I know that. As a matter of fact, I know that God has already punished that evildoer.

If it makes you happy to know what I know - that God will always punish evildoers - I will put as many spaces in my comments as you want.

And I am sorry that your poor little heart was troubled to work on other people's miseries. Remember, little J. Farmer, Esquire, that I have prayed for justice with all my heart, and you never said you did that.

Churchy LaFemme: said...

You can definitely see the roots of Star Trek in Forbidden Planet, a movie which was head and shoulders above any other SF movie of its era. Somehow or another Roddenberry never had a robot as good as "Robbie" on Trek though. Robbie lived on for years -- I think the last time I saw him was on Mork & Mindy. He was certainly a big influence on TV's definitive robot: B9. And on the human side, you gotta love a serious Leslie Neilson.

The script had a very golden-age SF feel to it apart from the Tempest setup. I'm not sure there was a better SF movie until 2001.

J. Farmer said...

@stephen cooper:

And I am sorry that your poor little heart was troubled to work on other people's miseries. Remember, little J. Farmer, Esquire, that I have prayed for justice with all my heart, and you never said you did that.

Careful there, Stephen. Your piety is slipping, and the condescension is starting to show. I made a joke about the odd spacing in your comment; I did not "mock those who pray for evildoers." What I said was that while I understand the sentiment, I myself have never been able to believe it and explained briefly some of the reasons why. I was not seeking and have no desire for your sympathy. And I am not an Esquire.

Carry on.

Quaestor said...

You can definitely see the roots of Star Trek in Forbidden Planet, a movie which was head and shoulders above any other SF movie of its era.

Agreed. Not only the style, but the even the prototypes of recurring characters in STOS can be seen in Forbidden Planet.

However, as a work of art FP stands head and shoulders above STOS thanks to the puerile thickheadedness of NBC's programming thugs, er... executives. Roddenberry's original pilot episode, The Cage was to be the precursor of a series aimed at thought-provoking plots involving the fundamentals of human nature. The sci-fi elements were simply a means to move the characters from one locus to another. NBC's execu-creeps rejected the pilot but gave Roddenberry a second chance to purge his show's intellectual elements in favor of ray-guns, sex, technobabble, and fisticuffs.

Thanks to a severely sprained ankle I've been grounded since Tuesday. My medication, a relaxant called Metaxalone, has thoroughly screwed up my circadian cycle — I'm awake when everyone is asleep and asleep otherwise. So I've been reading things long-neglected, including a hardcover sci-fi anthology derived from Analog magazine, particularly John W. Campbell's 1938 novella Who Goes There? It's about real men struggling to resist imitation men. Timely, no?

Mr. Forward said...

"Tear down the Wall, Medicare for all!" Professor Elizabeth Warren.

tim in vermont said...

I honestly have never been able to understand 2001, what made it compelling. I have forced myself to sit through it, but I have never felt compelled by it. Forbidden Planet, for all of it’s limitations, still kept me watching.

Lawrence Person said...

Dispatches from the Ukraine corruption investigation.

Jersey Fled said...

Good link by Lawrence Person

If accurate, it implicates Hunter for not only accepting payment for access to the Obama administration, but also for being a link in a massive money laundering operation.

Remember three years ago when we all thought that the intelligence community conspiring to alter an election and, failing that, to remove a sitting President was tin foil hat stuff?

Fernandinande said...

Hey Stephen, after praying for the evildoers, can you thrown in a quick one for posting comments without bizarre spacing? ;)

Oh, I dunno, the formatting adds a comedic touch to the schizotypal ramblings about evil spirits.

Fernandinande said...

Forbidden Planet had some great early synthesizer work, e.g. Battle With Invisible Monster; the composers missed out on an Oscar thanks to a union contract lawyer.

stephen cooper said...

J. Farmer - thanks for the explanation.

I am not really good at understanding other people.

Sorry about the diminutive adjective - I have been thinking a lot lately about Bonanza (the main star was Little Joe, I think - the guy who later played in Little House in the Prairie) and the theology of Saint Therese, who used the French equivalent - petit - as a compliment - so the condescending insult slipped out . Esquire was not an insult, though, just a wrong guess .....

stephen cooper said...

Fernandistein - maybe I am a 200 or so level IQ guy, which means if you are at 140 or lower you will think I am crazy whenever I am talking about the truths of this world (people with very high IQs appear to be schizotypical to people with 140 or lower IQ - remember, schizotypical was your word) - maybe I am someone who talks about the truths of this world who, while not pretending to be pious, knows an awful lot about what pious people know. In other words, someone you should respect, and not mock.

Just saying.